SB Nation - Tyson Chandler

Boston Sports On TV, Dec. 11: Knicks, Nets square off with Boston teams idle

Rodger Sherman — Tue, 11 Dec 2012 15:24:01 -0000

Boston sports fans have some time to soak in the New England Patriots' completely dominant win over the Houston Texans Monday night, as all Boston sports teams are inactive. There's other stuff on TV, notably a pair of intriguing NBA games, but it features out-of-town squads:

NBA: New York Knicks vs. Brooklyn Nets, 7 p.m., ESPN: The NBA's newest crosstown rivalry has turned out to be a relevant one, as both squads are above the Celtics in the Atlantic Division standings. The Knicks are tops in the East at 15-5 with a pair of commanding wins over the Miami Heat, but they dropped their only matchup with the Nets thus far, a 96-89 overtime affair where both sides clanged away and the Knicks fell short, despite 35 from Carmelo Anthony and 28 on only 13 shots from Tyson Chandler. Brook Lopez, who led the Nets in scoring that night, is out for Brooklyn, and they've lost four straight without him.

Los Angeles Clippers vs. Chicago Bulls, 9:30 p.m., ESPN: The Clippers have won six straight, and its more than just ridiculous finishes on Chris Paul passes by Blake Griffin, although there's plenty of that. They're solid on defense and Jamal Crawford is having one of his best years, averaging 17.9 points on near career-best shooting from the field. The Bulls have also won three straight and are managing to stay afloat even without Derrick Rose, thanks to Luol Deng's scoring and Carlos Boozer and Joakim Noah in the frontcourt.

Elsewhere:

College basketball: West Virginia vs. Duquesne, 7 p.m., CBS Sports Network

St. Joseph's vs. Villanova, 7 p.m., ESPNU

Premier League Soccer: Sunderland vs. Reading, 2:30 p.m., Fox Soccer Channel

PHOTO: Russell Westbrook Hits New York Fashion Week

Riley Breckenridge — Sat, 15 Sep 2012 00:00:43 -0000

When you think New York Fashion Week, you probably think it's a swirling mess of models, designers, retailers, movie stars, musicians, NBA players, and ... wait, what?

NBA Players?

Apparently so.

Oklahoma City Thunder point guard Russell Westbrook made an appearance at this year's formal flaunting of fabric, along with Tyson Chandler and J.R. Smith of the New York Knicks.

Russ kept it clean up top with a white Lacoste polo, and paired it with some navy high water slacks that someone had apparently decided to hang the contents of their tackle box on. He also wore his sunglasses indoors, presumably to keep from blinding himself with his BRIGHT YELLOW SHOES.

Westbrook is no stranger to fashion -- if, uh, that's what this is. He's made quite a name for himself with his Steve-Urkel-meets-Pharrell-Williams-meets-a-preschool-fingerpainting-project postgame news conference attire. And what better place to pick up ideas for next year's NBA season than New York Fashion Week.

Hopefully he found some better faux-eyeglasses than the Sally Jesse Raphael model he donned last year.

For more on the Oklahoma City Thunder, join the discussion at Welcome To Loud City. For all of your NBA needs, keep an eye on SB Nation's dedicated NBA hub.

Hakeem Olajuwon Hired By Knicks To Work With Their Big Men

Jeremy Mauss — Fri, 14 Sep 2012 02:29:28 -0000

Former Houston Rockets center Hakeem Olajuwon has been hired by the New York Knicks to help coach their big men. During the summer, the Hall of Famer spent time with the Knicks' Amare Stoudemire on his post game.

Apparently, the Knicks felt that Olajuwon did well enough that they hired him and he will work with Carmelo Anthony, Tyson Chandler and Marcus Camby in addition to Stoudemire.

One big issue with the Knicks is working on chemistry with Anthony and Stoudemire, but Olajuwon thinks he knows how that could be achieved:

"It shouldn't be Amare just staying in the post because he can be a scorer in the paint and outside," Olajuwon said. "It's the same thing for Carmelo. He can score in the post and outside. So if Carmelo is in the post, Amare can be at the foul line and he can make that shot. If Amare's in the post, Carmelo can make the shot from the free-throw line, too. They shouldn't be competing against each other; they should be complementing each other. They need each other to win."

The Knicks are trying nearly everything to get their team to improve, and bringing in one of the best post players in the history of the NBA can not make things any worse.

NBA Rumors: Would Mavs Offer James Harden The Max?

tjarks — Wed, 12 Sep 2012 13:00:48 -0000

James Harden has an interesting choice in front of him. He's clearly in a great situation in Oklahoma City, but the Thunder probably won't be able to pay three players max contracts and avoid the luxury tax.

So he could either agree to a below-market value extension now or wait until he's a restricted free agent and see what the market will offer him.

According to ESPN's Marc Stein, at least a few Western Conference teams would be willing to throw a max offer his way:

I know at least two teams near OKC (Houston & Dallas) that are huge Harden fans and will have cap space to sign him to loaded offer sheet
— Marc Stein (@ESPNSteinLine) September 12, 2012

While Harden wouldn't be the elite defensive center the Mavericks need to replace Tyson Chandler, he would be a star who could transition the franchise forward as Dirk Nowitzki gets older.

Thunder fans, don't say you weren't warned ...

Dream Team vs. 2012 USA Team: A Look At The Numbers

Brian McDonald — Tue, 14 Aug 2012 16:05:34 -0000

Before the Olympic basketball tournament started just over two weeks ago, players from this years team like Kobe Bryant confidently proclaimed that they would beat the famed 1992 Dream Team. Most fans and media members including myself didn't agree with their assessment, but the 2012 squad does have a lot of talent. While I don't think the Dream Team would blow them out, I do think they had significantly more talent than this years squad. If they were to play in a seven game series, I would take the Dream Team 4-1.

The main argument the current players seemed to make was that they were younger, more athletic, and that the 1992 team were all on the downside of their career; simply not true. The average age of the 1992 team was 28, the average age of this years team was 26. The average NBA experience the players had was seven NBA seasons for both teams. Magic Johnson and Larry Bird were past their prime, but the other 10 guys were by no means old and washed up. They're fairly even on the perimeter with multiple Hall of Famers on both sides, but down in the post is where the Dream Team wins in a landslide. The 2008 "Redeem Team" would actually be a better matchup for the Dream Team because this years squad just doesn't have enough size down low. The Dream Team had Charles Barkley, Karl Malone, David Robinson, and Patrick Ewing in the front court; the 2012 team has Kevin Love and Tyson Chandler. Even if Kobe Bryant and LeBron James cancel out Michael Jordan and Clyde Drexler; they'd still get killed in the post. On some level it's hard to compare the two teams because the size and speed of athletes change over 20 years, but if I believe if you put those players in today's game with the better nutrition and workout programs today's players have, they would adapt and be just as good now as they were then

Stats don't lie...

Average Margin Of Victory:

1992 Team - 43.75
2012 Team - 32.1

Closest Game:

1992 Team - 33 point win over Croatia in Gold Medal Game
2012 Team - 5 points vs. Lithuania, 7 points vs. Spain

Field Goal Percentage:

1992 - .578%
2012 - .523%

Opponent Field Goal Percentage:

1992 Opponents FG%- .365%
2012 Opponents FG% - .454%

Assist To Turnover Per Game:

1992 Team - 29.9 assists/8.3 turnovers
2012 Team - 25 assists/9.8 turnovers

NBA Titles:

1992 Team - 12
2012 Team - 7 (5 from Kobe)

Nothing wrong with being confident, but the 2012 team is in no way better than the 1992 Dream Team.

Mavericks Not Worried About Possible Dirk Decline

tjarks — Thu, 19 Jul 2012 18:18:17 -0000

At the age of 34, Dirk Nowitzki is clearly on the downside of his career, but the Dallas Mavericks aren't worried about their best player slipping to far from his peak.

As Mavericks GM Donnie Nelson pointed out in an interview with the Fort-Worth Star Telegram, Dirk is still two-three years younger than Tim Duncan and Kevin Garnett, both coming off deep post-season runs:

"Dirk, with his size and versatility, he's a thinker and he's a shooter, he's the kind of guy that can age very well," Nelson said.

Size and shooting ability are the two features that correlate the most with career longevity, for obvious reasons. Players don't get smaller in their late 30's and they don't forget how to shoot jumpers.

But while Dirk is a more dangerous offensive threat than Duncan and Garnett, both offer much more on the defensive end. Of course, the Mavericks had another 7'0 with Duncan's ability to hold position on the low block and Garnett's ability to contain penetration and play above the rim.

And if Dallas can find another player like Tyson Chandler, they'll be back where they were two years ago. Oops.

Check Out Tyson Chandler's Solid Backcourt

Bill Hanstock — Tue, 10 Jul 2012 12:00:33 -0000

For several years now, ESPN Magazine has put out an annual "Body Issue," which features (among other things, assumedly), tastefully nude pictures of athletes of all shapes, sizes and sports. Well, I say "nude," but most of the naughty bits are usually obscured by a tennis racquet or a cunningly placed hurdle or maybe just a finger or two. We're usually treated to plenty of butts, though. The latest butt that we know we'll be treated to comes to us courtesy of New York Knicks star Tyson Chandler, who will be the cover model. Hit the jump for all the bootylicious eye-candy. (Maybe NSFW depending on your job's stance on man-rump.)

This cover image comes to our attention via Kelly Dwyer of Ball Don't Lie.

(Courtesy ESPN Magazine)

Dang, Tyson. That's some Ken Griffey Jr.-level badonkadonks you got there. We still say "badonkadonks" for butts, right? I think that's AP style. "Badonkadonks" on first use, "trunk-junkage" thereafter.

To me, the most striking thing about this is how weird it looks to have a full sleeve and no tattoos on your butt-parts while you're naked. Seeing as how I have a full sleeve, I'm going to assume I look like this naked. I probably do. I even keep a black basketball in my room to cover up my jibblies when I'm strutting around the house nude.

I should call Tyson up. I think we'd have a lot to talk about.

For lots more on Tyson Chandler and the New York Knicks, please visit Posting and Toasting or stop by SB Nation New York.

Jason Kidd Doubts The New Mavericks Roster

tjarks — Sun, 08 Jul 2012 17:41:29 -0000

What exactly was going through Jason Kidd's mind when he decided to back out of the contract he had agreed to with the Dallas Mavericks and sign with the New York Knicks?

Kidd answered that question in an interview Friday with ESPN Radio (h/t NYTimes):

"I looked at the roster and I felt I could go quietly and retire, or I felt like I can compete and help a team win," Kidd said. "So I saw the pieces of the Knicks, and I thought that I could help them out."

Only a year after winning a championship, with Tyson Chandler gone and Deron Williams not coming, the perception of the Mavericks around the NBA has slipped tremendously.

As Kidd says it, Dallas is off the radar completely, a team slipping "quietly" back to the pack. Changing that perception will be the most difficult task for Donnie Nelson, Mark Cuban and the rest of the front office going forward.

Dwyane Wade Says Pacers 'Celebrated Like The Mavericks'

tjarks — Wed, 16 May 2012 17:43:11 -0000

After the Miami Heat's 78-75 loss to the Indiana Pacers on Tuesday night, Miami star Dwyane Wade had some choice comments about Indiana's celebration, referencing the Mavericks in the process:

Dwyane Wade: "I heard they wanted to be like the Dallas Mavericks. I saw their celebration after the game."
— Tom Haberstroh (@tomhaberstroh) May 16, 2012

It's hard to even know what to make of these comments. They're clearly meant to be a knock on Indiana celebrating their first victory in a best-of-seven series, but why rope Dallas into this?

For that matter, it's not as if Wade has much room to stand on when it comes to knocking premature celebration.

But while the Pacers victory in Game 2 was nice, it's hard to compare them to the Mavericks since they don't have anyone comparable to Dirk Nowitzki or Tyson Chandler on their roster.

Either way, it's nice to know that Dallas victory last season still stings Miami's stars.

Lamar Odom Could Still Play On The Olympic Team

tjarks — Mon, 14 May 2012 19:37:09 -0000

Lamar Odom may have had a 9.2 PER for the Dallas Mavericks last season, but that doesn't mean Team USA has given up on him:

According to Coach K., @RealLamarOdom is still in consideration for the @USABasketball Olympic Team. #mediasummit #teamusa
— US Olympic Committee (@USOlympic) May 14, 2012

While it may seem crazy, Odom played extremely well as the starting center on the 2010 World Championship Team, and Coach K turned to him before both Kevin Love and Tyson Chandler.

And with LaMarcus Aldridge, Dwight Howard and Chris Bosh now possibly sidelined with injury, the pool of available big men for the 2012 Olympics is extremely shallow. If Coach K thinks Odom's problems in Dallas were due more to motivation concerns and a poor fit with the Mavericks roster, he might be tempted to roll the dice on a 6'10 point forward with the versatility to defend both interior positions.